This site contains information and reviews of Windows applications and games running on Linux and Mac using Wine and CodeWeavers CrossOver. Wine is an Open Source implementation of the Windows API on top of X and Unix.

Friday, February 26, 2010

The Bordeaux Technology Group released Bordeaux 2.0.2 for Solaris today. Bordeaux 2.0.2 is a maintenance release that fixes a critical bug with sound support. Customers who need sound support are advised to upgrade to this newer release. This release has been tested on OpenSolaris 2009.06 as well as the upcoming OpenSolaris 2010.03 release build 133, there has also been a couple small bug fixes and tweaks on the back-end.

With version 2.0.0 and onward we bundle our own Wine build and many tools and libraries that Wine depends upon. With this release we bundle Wine 1.1.36, Cabextract, Mozilla Gecko, Unzip, Wget and other support libraries and tools. We have also added preliminary support for Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and Internet Explorer 7.

The cost of Bordeaux 2.0.2 is $25.00. Anyone who has purchased Bordeaux in the past six months is entitled to a free upgrade. Bordeaux comes with six months of upgrades and support and of course a 30-day money back guarantee.

Supported Applications/Games:

Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2003

Microsoft Office 2000

Microsoft Office 97

Microsoft Office Visio 2003

Microsoft Office Project 2003

Adobe Photoshop 6

Adobe Image Ready 3

Adobe Photoshop 7

Adobe Image Ready 7

Adobe Photoshop CS

Adobe Photoshop CS2

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

Steam and Steam based Games

Apple QuickTime 6.5.2 Player

IrfaView 4.25 (Image files only)

Winetricks support

About Bordeaux:

The Bordeaux Technology Group is a software services and development company specializing in Windows compatibility software. Users of Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac systems from time to time find themselves in the need to run specialized Windows software. The Bordeaux suite enables access to these programs and data in a seamless and low cost manner without requiring licensing of Microsoft Technology. The Bordeaux Group also provides migration services and support for alternative operating systems specializing in Windows compatibility.

There is a multitude of software developed only for the Windows operating system and even when software vendors port their applications to another platform, generally it lacks features that the Windows version contains. The only solution these developers face is to have access to both systems for testing which leads to increased infrastructure demands, and wasted project resources. If you are vendor interested in supporting your application on Linux, BSD, Solaris or Mac OS X or a software user that needs to run a Windows application on Linux, BSD, Solaris or Mac OS X we can help.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Bordeaux Technology Group announces it has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with StormOS to develop and further commercialise Bordeaux for Unix operating systems.

Under the terms of the agreement, the developers at StormOS will develop the future Bordeaux (UI) User Interface and StormOS will receive an exclusive license to distribute all related intellectual property.

Users of StormOS will have the ability to run many of their favorite Microsoft Windows Programs on top of StormOS at no charge. With this agreement, every future StormOS user will be eligible for a free Bordeaux licence.

Bordeaux 2.2 is currently in active development. With this partnership, The Bordeaux Technology Group is further strengthening its promising portfolio of products on Unix operating systems. The Bordeaux Technology Group will receive and own all development achievements, and will release the new User Interface in the upcoming 2.2 release of their Windows on Unix technology.

By entering into this research and development collaboration with StormOS, we are able to improve the end user experience with Wine technology's and bring a new and exciting User Interface to the Bordeaux product.

The agreement also provides StormOS with the ability to develop additional Windows on Unix technology's for distribution in the StormOS operating system.

About The Bordeaux Technology Group :

The Bordeaux Technology Group is a software services and development company specializing in Windows compatibility software. Users of Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac systems from time to time find themselves in the need to run specialized Windows software. The Bordeaux suite enables access to these programs and data in a seamless and low cost manner without requiring licensing of Microsoft Technology. The Bordeaux Group also provides migration services and support for alternative operating systems specializing in Windows compatibility.

About StormOS :

StormOS is the first desktop distribution based on the Nexenta Core Platform which combines the power of the Solaris kernel with the Ubuntu user-land and package management system. The project aims to create a lightweight OS that can scale from netbook to workstation including all the essentials out of the box.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

After being a computer game fiend for almost all of my childhood up until early college, since moving exclusively to using a Macbook, I have been absent from the gaming world for quite some time. A combination of not having enough time (not that I have enough time now…) and just lack of interest had me disregarding computer gaming in favor of console games when I lived with a roommate who decked our apartment out with a huge flatscreen TV and an XBOX 360 and.. Call of Duty 4 and Soul Calibur 4.

Anyway, recently I stumbled across the wonder that is Wine, an open source software application that allows Windows applications to run on your Unix-based operating system (such as Mac OS X and Linux) by implementing the Windows API and running the applications natively.

Being the lazy nerd that I am, I got frustrated while attempting to get some games running through Wine binaries and eventually stumbled on the wonder that is Crossoverfrom the talented crew at Codeweavers. Crossover is a third-party application that strives to make your Mac-Windows experience super easy.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Bordeaux Technology Group released Bordeaux 2.0.0 for FreeBSD and PC-BSD today. Bordeaux 2.0.0 marks major progress over older releases. With version 2.0.0 and onward we bundle our own Wine build and many tools and libraries that Wine depends upon. With this release we bundle Wine 1.1.36, Cabextract, Mozilla Gecko, Unzip, Wget and other support libraries and tools. We have improved support for Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and preliminary support for Internet Explorer 7 in this release, there has also been many small bug fixes and tweaks on the back-end.

The cost of Bordeaux 2.0.0 is $20.00. Anyone who has purchased Bordeaux in the past six months is entitled to a free upgrade. Bordeaux comes with six months of upgrades and support and of course a 30-day money back guarantee.

Supported Applications/Games:

Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2003

Microsoft Office 2000

Microsoft Office 97

Microsoft Office Visio 2003

Microsoft Office Project 2003

Adobe Photoshop 6

Adobe Image Ready 3

Adobe Photoshop 7

Adobe Image Ready 7

Adobe Photoshop CS

Adobe Photoshop CS2

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

Steam and Steam based Games

Apple QuickTime 6.5.2 Player

IrfaView 4.25 (Image files only)

Winetricks support

About Bordeaux:

The Bordeaux Technology Group is a software services and development company specializing in Windows compatibility software. Users of Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac systems from time to time find themselves in the need to run specialized Windows software. The Bordeaux suite enables access to these programs and data in a seamless and low cost manner without requiring licensing of Microsoft Technology. The Bordeaux Group also provides migration services and support for alternative operating systems specializing in Windows compatibility.

There is a multitude of software developed only for the Windows operating system and even when software vendors port their applications to another platform, generally it lacks features that the Windows version contains. The only solution these developers face is to have access to both systems for testing which leads to increased infrastructure demands, and wasted project resources. If you are vendor interested in supporting your application on Linux, BSD, Solaris or Mac OS X or a software user that needs to run a Windows application on Linux, BSD, Solaris or Mac OS X we can help.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

At MacWorld, we were lucky enough to interview James Ramey, VP of Sales at Codeweavers. Codeweavers is a Minneapolis based software company that enables Mac OS X and Linux users to run Windows applications. Through the usage of open source software called Wine, Codeweavers is able to allow Windows based applications to run as if they were native applications. When you first switched from a Windows PC to a Mac, you might have been gloomy because you could not play Counter-Strike or had to buy a new license of Microsoft Office (Which is not cheap!).

Codeweavers has two different flavors of software, CrossOver Mac/Linux and CrossOver Games. The price CrossOver Mac are two different prices, $39.99 Standard, and $69.95 Professional. The reason for the difference in price is because of the time of support. CrossOver Mac Standard gives you 6 month of Level 3 Support, so you are able to get the important updates. In CrossOver Mac Professional, you receive 1 year of Level 2 Support. In addition, you also have a copy of CrossOver Games ($39.95). The difference between CrossOver Mac and CrossOver Games is with CrossOver Mac you are able to run enterprise applications (I.E. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, etc.) and Windows only games. CrossOver Games is geared more for gamers, so it only gives you the ability to run Windows games.

Monday, February 15, 2010

We are proud to officially announce the launch of our Affiliate program.

Effective IMMEDIATELY, any individual or organisation may contact The Bordeaux Group about participation in our brand new Affiliate Program.

The Affiliate Program will allow anyone who participates to place a Bordeaux Group banner or text link on their website and automatically receive a commission from every item purchased by visitors to http://bordeauxgroup.com/ through the banner or text link visit.

That's it... there's nothing more you have to do! Just put up a banner or text link on your website and immediately begin earning commissions for yourself or your organisation!

How to apply :

If you don't already have a Bordeaux Group account, create a new account and then log into the account, and go into the my accounts section..

http://www.bordeauxgroup.com/user/

click on apply for role. Or if you wish you can request to participate by sending a message through our "Contact" page.

Once your new affiliate account is approved. You should be able to see a section called "Affiliate Center", you should be then be able to generate the links you'll need to put on your website and track the click throughs and commissions.

You can use any or all of the banners provided below to link back to The Bordeaux Group. Or if you wish you can create your own custom banner and use it on your blog or website.

I took the plunge recently, forking over $20 for the Bordeaux GUI front-end for Wine, the non-emulator that allows users of Linux (and Solaris and FreeBSD) to run Windows applications on their Unix-like computers.

I decided to use Bordeaux because its developers (or developer singular ... I'm not sure) promised that IrfanView 4.25 would run with it.

And I saw plenty of Wine users have trouble with Irfanview. Codeweavers, who I'd rather deal with than Bordeaux, doesn't make any promises in regard to Irfanview. Bordeaux does.

Why Irfanview? It's the best photo editor on any platform for my particular workflow at the L.A. Daily News. It's quick, batches well and lets me get to every part of the IPTC metadata I need to edit.

So getting it in Linux — in my case Debian Lenny — is a huge win.

I had problems but by sheer luck (Bordeaux's lack of documentation is astounding for something I paid actual money for) I was easily able to install Bordeaux and then use it to install IrfanView. It's almost too easy.

Getting the IrfanView plugins installed was another matter.

After the Bordeaux install, none of the Wine tools worked — either from the Bordeaux GUI or on the Linux command line.

I don't know how I thought of this (it's a bit above my FOSS geek-level pay grade), but I came up with the idea that I should install Debian's Wine packages over those installed by Bordeaux.

That did it. I could now use Bordeaux's tools to "run" Wine and all of its utilities. I was then able to install the IrfanView plugins from the .exe file I had previously downloaded from the IrfanView site.

I even found a PNG logo for IrfanView with which I added the app to my upper GNOME panel. (And yes, I'll be sending some cash along to IrfanView developer Irfan Skiljan very soon.)

I have a feeling that the Wine included in Bordeaux 2.0.0, which is Wine 1.1.36, doesn't work perfectly (or all that well) in Debian Lenny because it's too "new."

Lenny installs Wine 1.0.1-1. Thus far, I can say that with the Lenny Wine, everything works like it's supposed to.

I don't really have any other Windows apps I'm dying to run. Bordeaux offers easy GUI installs of the IE 6 and 7 browsers, a bunch of MS Office programs as well as a few versions of Photoshop up to CS2, I think (I imagine you need either a bona fide Photoshop disc or a product code) as well as the Steam gaming engine (barely know what that is, to tell you the truth). I really don't need any of that stuff.

But having IrfanView in Debian is a huge, huge win for my personal workflow.

VirtualBox may be free, but you still have to own a copy of Windows. If you’re not willing to shell out a few hundred dollars to Microsoft but still want to run Windows on your Intel-based Mac, there is one more alternative: CrossOver from CodeWeavers costs $40 and runs Windows applications on Mac OS X — without Windows.

CrossOver is not virtualization, as evidenced by the whimsically named technology behind it: the open source Wine (Wine Is Not an Emulator) project. With CrossOver, Windows applications run directly in Mac OS X, and not in a virtual machine. Wine is an implementation of the Win32 API on Mac OS X. The Windows applications don’t know they’re not running on Windows. There’s also a CrossOver for Linux.

The result is that a Windows application running with CrossOver uses fewer system resources, including memory, disk space, and CPU utilization, than the same app running in Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion. Performance of Windows applications is very good.

Canonical is looking into selling proprietary software like Adobe’s Photoshop and Apple’s iTunes within its distribution, Ubuntu. This would undoubtedly be helpful for certain end users wanting to switch to Linux, but is it good for free software in the long run?

The introduction of the Ubuntu Software Center (originally named “Ubuntu Software Store”) into the recent Karmic Koala 9.10 release is a move towards creating a central interface for managing applications.

The original name was changed from “Store” to “Center” because it invoked images of selling software. Strange for a free Linux distribution.

Now however, that might not have been too far from the truth. Indeed, the plans for the Software Center indicate that by the 10.10 release (that’s the 10th month of 2010 for those who aren’t aware of the versioning scheme) it will be possible to purchase software.

Before this however, the upcoming 10.04 release should see the Software Center replace a majority of the existing package managers, including GNOME App Install, Gdebi and Synaptic. It should also replace the Update Manager and Software Sources for configuring repositories. By the April release of 2011, the application should be feature complete.

All of that sounds really good. A single, neat, easy to use interface would be a great addition to the desktop.

The Way Forward?

Canonical is definitely aligning itself to selling software. It’s nothing new though, it does it already for software like media codecs, DVD player support and, strangely enough, virtualization software. Commercial codec packs have been available through various distributions for a long time, as a way for end users to legitimately access their data without potentially violating software patents.

Now however, it appears that they are gearing up for something more. The reach is being extended and Ubuntu is asking for your input on which proprietary applications you would like to see made available in the distribution.

“We are trying to gather preferences for the apps that users would like to see in upcoming version of Ubuntu. While we all believe in the power of open source applications we are also very keen that users should get to choose the software they want to use. There are some great apps that aren’t yet available to Ubuntu users and Canonical would like to know the priority that users would like to see them.”

These are not proprietary applications to be included by default, but rather those which can be easily installed via official repositories. That’s right, presumable via the official “Partner” repository.

Considering that the list includes applications like Adobe Photoshop, that’s an interesting proposition. A user could, presumably, purchase a copy of Adobe Photoshop via the Ubuntu Software Center, which will configure the appropriate repository, download and install the application. Voilà!

There is no native Linux version of Photoshop, so this will most likely need to be run via Wine (Wine Is Not An Emulator), a free software implementation of the Windows API. There are several commercial products based on Wine, and one in particular is CrossOver, from Codeweavers. This company builds support for Windows programs into Wine and sells support for it. These improvements are then fed upstream, back into the Wine project.

In fact, “Codeweavers” is also on the list and CrossOver already supports Photoshop (version 6 through to CS2). Could it be that the Ubuntu Software Center will also be a front end for installing and removing packages seamlessly for use with CrossOver? Maybe so. Steam, World of Warcraft and Google’s Picasa, all of which are on the list too, are already supported under Wine.

Other applications on the list include Apple’s iTunes, one very popular application world wide which has no presence on the Linux desktop. Skype is also on the list, for which an Ubuntu package already exists.

At present, this survey is just a question of which applications users would like to see easily installable in Ubuntu. Perhaps these will use Wine, perhaps they will be native applications. At this stage just what this will entail, is not certain.

The Same Old Story

It’s easy to see why a distribution such as Ubuntu would want to enable support for popular proprietary software. The lack of ability to run popular Windows software on Linux impedes some users from making the move to free software.

We’ve all been there.

A friend’s Windows computer got a virus and you’ve been called to clean up the mess. They ask about this “Linux thing” you’ve been using. “It’s fast, stable, secure, free and best of all, doesn’t get viruses or spyware,” you point out.

“Sounds great!” the friend says. “Will it run Photoshop? I really need Photoshop.”

Uh oh. No, it doesn’t run Photoshop. In fact, generally speaking it doesn’t run any Windows software (well technically speaking you could get Photoshop and some others working under Wine). In this regard, it’s like a Mac. “There are lots of great free alternatives though, like the GIMP and Krita which you could learn how to use,” you meekly reply. However, the friend is perhaps reluctant to learn, doesn’t like the look of them, they don’t support the features they need - a dozen different reason. So they stick with Windows (which leaves you to fix their computer next time it dies).

What if that user could switch to Linux because Photoshop did run on Linux? What would that change?

On some level it would be fantastic to say, “Don’t worry, Photoshop runs perfectly on Linux! You can continue to use all those proprietary apps you need.” On another level, it’s also sad. It’s sad because if people understood the principles behind free software and why it’s a better way, perhaps they would be more willing to give free software replacements a try. Someone who wants to stick with their proprietary software, just doesn’t quite get it.

If all someone wants is a no-cost operating system, without understanding or caring about any of the philosophical elements behind it, what kind of future are we breeding?

Next: A Question of World View

All of this does once again raise the issue of proprietary software in the Linux space. Naturally, Canonical is free to do whatever they like to their operating system, but what effects might it have on the rest of us?

There’s no doubt that if Linux could seamlessly run those “essential” applications like Photoshop, it would become a much more attractive operating system to a majority of the existing market.

But do we care? Well, it depends on your world view.

Free software exists because some see it as a better way. We use it because it provides us with specific freedoms, we trust it, we can hack it, we like it. This is what Linux and free software has to offer. If you don’t want to use it, then don’t. If you prefer to use Windows and proprietary applications, then use those.

The Linux desktop got to the way it is today thanks to free software and the open development model. The popularity of Linux on the server and super computer market has not been a result of proprietary software, but rather outstanding free software. It did so by providing a better option over existing Unix systems, with which it has much more in common.

For companies like Canonical however, it’s not about free software but rather gaining market share and ultimately making money. Ensuring that popular Windows software can run on Ubuntu gives it a better chance of securing more market share, regardless of the philosophical arguments.

You see, the desktop is a different ball game. It’s less about services and more about front-end software, most of which is designed specifically for Windows. Linux is already at a massive disadvantage.

However, supporting closed source software is tricky, especially when it’s running on a system other than the one it was designed for. Proprietary video drivers enable users to have decent 3D acceleration, but they also introduce numerous issues of their own. Due to their closed source nature, these issues can’t be resolved by the free software community. By introducing support for proprietary software, Canonical might be digging a hole too deep for itself to climb out of. If users are paying for software, they will expect it to work properly. How can Canonical ensure this happens when they can’t see the code base? Would a company like Adobe be willing to fix issues in a timely fashion? Photoshop CS under Codeweavers is only supported at a Bronze level which means that it will install and run, and can “accomplish some portion of their fundamental mission,” but expect a bumpy ride.

And anyway, this whole idea simply goes against the grain. Supporting proprietary software in Linux, are you nuts? Wine has been in development for 15 years and yet it still can only install a small number of applications well.

It’s a tough call, but obviously one that Canonical is willing to take. It’s true that by supporting proprietary applications, Ubuntu would become a more popular and “usable” for Windows users.

Perhaps there is room for both world views. After all, each distribution has the right to its own goals and agendas, Canonical and Ubuntu just as much as any other. Those who choose to run free software can continue to do so, while those who need Linux to run their Windows software can find it.

Make Better Free Software

Don’t get me wrong, I think the Wine project is great. We should have open implementations of all languages and systems. There is a difference however, between having a project which enables some Windows applications support, and going all out to encourage proprietary software on the Linux desktop (I’m not suggesting that Canonical is doing this, either).

For Linux to be able to entice users away from Microsoft, does it really need to support their Windows only applications? Why do users prefer Photoshop over GIMP? If it’s a user interface issue, then skin it to look like Photoshop. If it’s shortcut keys, then map them too. If it’s features, then start hacking.

Instead of putting effort into getting proprietary software running, a game at which Linux will be forever playing catch up, can’t we just work together to improve existing Free software?

Yes, Free software takes time to develop into a powerful alternative. It generally doesn’t have money thrown at it like proprietary applications, and so develops at a much slower pace. Those applications which do develop quickly are often backed by large corporations which have employees developing the software, OpenOffice.org for instance. It might also not be possible to do this, but if we could address the reasons why users simply “must have” their Photoshop type applications over free alternatives, perhaps we could create a viable enough alternative over time.

Ubuntu has supported proprietary video drivers. While this has been extremely helpful to those who want to make use of the drivers, has it been detrimental to the cause of free drivers? Could all the commercial Linux distros get together and work with a company like NVIDIA to develop a decent open source driver? Perhaps they could, but it probably wouldn’t work. Linux needs to become a big enough player in the Desktop market so that proprietary software companies simply have to release free software in order to be successful on the platform. This is happening, slowly. To some degree, it’s a chicken and egg problem. How do you become powerful enough on the desktop so that you can influence companies like these, without first using their proprietary applications to gain popularity?

The question is, by supporting proprietary software in the operating system and kernel are we less likely to see a free version in the long run? And if we never see a free version, do we care? Will we get to a point where closed source is just as acceptable as free software? If proprietary Windows applications can run on Linux, how much motivation would there be to develop outstanding free applications? Will running proprietary software under Linux keep the development focus squarely away from free software?

Does the integration of proprietary software provide a short term benefit and a long term handicap?

I became a Mac convert a few years ago. I won't go into the reasons why, but lets just say I was a hardcore windows developer before, so for me to have been drawn to the dark side there had to be a hell of a reason. There was, there is, if you don't get it then don't bother to read any further.

If you have recently converted, or are simply interested in how other people use their macs then read on. I work with lots of business people so my Mac has to be capable of doing everything a Windows pc can do. I'm also a coder and a gamer so I have additional requirements.

For Business I use:

Office 2008 - Probably the best version of office, as it doesn't have the annoying ribbon.

I was propitious sufficient to get my hands upon a copy of CodeWeavers’ flagship product Crossover Mac this week. The module is written to concede applications from pick platforms, essentially Windows, to run seamlessly upon Mac OS X though a need for emulators or twin booting a mechanism which requires a restart as well as squandered tough hoop space.

To contend which a module achieves this is an understatement to contend a least. During a contrast of a program, we found all aspects of it to be flattering most flawless.

The primary component of a module which indispensable testing, was of course a designation as well as setup. As with a infancy of OS X software, designation was simply a routine of draw towards as well as dump in to a applications folder. Registering a module was a zephyr too. we simply had to register upon a CodeWeavers website as well as afterwards register a module regulating a same details.So once your all set up as well as registered, we might consternation where a focus has gone. All which is rught away manifest is a idol placed in a comparison folder, or upon a wharf while open. This is due to a watchful inlet of a software. It flattering most stays out of your way, not even regulating until called upon. However, when we come in any visual middle such as a CD or DVD containing designation files meant for Windows, a focus springs in to hold up as well as loads a files in an intensely identical demeanour to a auto-boot routine upon Windows.

There is an roughly unconstrained list of module which is concordant with this software. The infancy of continually used programs will most expected be concordant with Crossover Mac. This includes anything from Microsoft Office to Call of Duty. For my primary tests of a module we motionless to implement Microsoft Office as we motionless it would be a utilitarian serve to my Mac as we haven’t grown a good ambience for Open Office as well as haven’t nonetheless paid for a duplicate of iWork given not long ago purchasing an Apple Mac Mini.

The primary theatre of designation was sincerely lengthy. This was utterly due to a actuality which it was a primary implement we had carried out as well as thus a complement indispensable to implement compulsory fonts as well as such. After a primary installation, any serve module we attempted to implement was carried off though a hitch. To be honest, this isn’t a vital complaint anyway. Proceeding with a installation, we was confronted with a common interface we had found with Windows. The designation routine from this indicate onwards was as discerning as any Windows installation.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

No, this is not a review of wine. It is in fact a review of a computer program made for those of us who use Linux instead of Windows. I use Ubuntu--a flavor of Linux--on my laptop. I use the laptop primarily for browsing the internet and Ubuntu is a bit faster than Windows on the internet and a lot more secure viruswise.

But I also need to run some programs that do not work well on Ubuntu alone. Namely Fritz Chess and CT ART-- another chess program. I tried using Wine but that alone didn't work and then I ordered Bordeaux and that did the trick. I also wanted to use AIM but so far I haven't been able to get it to work. However I have been able to get Quicktime and Grabit to work and I will continue to try additional programs in the future and inform you as to whether or not they work.

Bordeaux is a good program. It does pretty much what it is supposed to do. But it is not perfect. However it is a work in progress and so there is no telling what the future will bring. I personally would like to see a program that would emulate Windows XP entirely. There is an operating system that supposedly does this--ReactOs. But after 10 years of development ReactOs is still not available in a Beta version and so cannot be used as a reliable program nor will such a version be available soon.

If you are running Linux and need to use chess programs that do not seem to work well with Wine my advice to you is to try Bordeaux. It does come with a guarantee and so you have nothing to lose if it doesn't do what you need it to do.

Friday, February 12, 2010

From Jeremy White's Blog :
I realize that it's trite for anyone in the computer industry, but I have to confess to being a life long fan of Star Trek.
Now, mind you, I don't know Klingon, I don't own a starfleet uniform, and I don't routinely go around quoting obscure Ferengi dialog. So there are many that would say I don't really qualify as a trekkie (or trekker, although I do know that it's a point of debate :-/ ).
But my wife and I have watched every episode and every movie, and we've enjoyed sharing many of the episodes with our kids.
So when Cryptic offered an opportunity to beta test Star Trek Online, I jumped at the chance. With a lot of hard work the team here and some help from Cryptic, we were just able to get it running in Wine.
Further, I discovered as I played the game, that it's fun, and 'missions' is a better game metaphore than 'quests', in my humble opinion. That is, in World of Warcraft, I always felt like I was a dog, and each quest was an instruction to 'fetch'. And why on earth does Lieutenant Farren Orinelle need so many Merlock heads? But rescuing a freighter seems like a legitimate thing to do, and if you have to destroy a bunch of Orion ships on the way, well that sort of makes sense as well.
So I'm hoping that my wife and I can play this game for a while. But in order for that to happen, I've got to have a release of CrossOver to use to play it. So I put together an unsupported build, and did some basic testing, trying not to take anything away from our efforts on 'Snow Mallard'. It runs Company of Heroes more nicely, but seems to cause trouble with Left 4 Dead 1 and 2.
Then I asked the support staff here what they thought I should do. They were a bit concerned; they felt that any benefit from Star Trek Online would probably be overshadowed by the support issues from folks who didn't read our warnings. So they requested that we not ship it, and take some time to polish it up more properly, probably requiring that we wait until after we had shipped Snow Mallard.
But in this case, I decided that the needs of the one (me) outweighed the needs of the many (our support staff) .
So, if you want to try Star Trek Online, you can learn how to do it here.
But please be kind to our support staff - it's not their fault!
Cheers,
Jeremy

--

Now the really Cool thing is if you enter : WeaveMe
as your deal code, coupon offer you will receive a instant rebate of 25% off the regular price. Yes you read it here first! For a limited time new CodeWeavers CrossOver customers can purchase CX Games for only $29.96 and CX Pro for only $52.46.... If You or a friend, relative etc.. ever wanted to try CrossOver Games or their Pro version this is the time to do it.